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Thursday, July 7, 2011

in clover: funnel of love

Girl's Day! My mother-in-law was visiting AND it was her birthday, so she and I took off with our little c for a girl's only lunch except we let Michael join us (just for lunch) because she is HIS mama and he doesn't get to see her near as often as he'd like.

Crepes at the The Six Friends Cafe was a birthday treat. I LOVE crepes. Sweet crepes, savory crepes...I never met a crepe I didn't like. I had the "Tanner" and MIL had the "Erica" and they kindly let little c make up her own...ham and cheddar.

But the best part was the antiquing after lunch. MIL found a 70's McCoy smiley face cookie jar. She told me she had one in the 70's and that one of her three boys broke it throwing a ball or "something" in the house. She did not buy it for herself but I was able to send my FIL and Big C on a super secret mission to retrieve it. She loved her birthday surprise! Little c was very good. Wish I had a nickel for every time she exclaimed, "Mommy! Isn't this beautiful?" So much fun. I found several treasures at Feather Your Nest...

I especially love this great old funnel I found in a booth in the back. The metal has a fabulous patina and well, call me crazy but I love funnels in general. I had a bunch of old funnels once upon time, in my shop, but they all sold long ago. When I saw this one, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. And I was pretty sure where I wanted to put it.

First, sweet Michael drilled two holes in the side for me...

and then I rounded up some leftover wire from a beading project.

I hoped for the best with the wire but just in case I had trouble with the wire, I had a spool of hemp cord for back up.

The spout of a funnel makes for perfect drainage...

so I strung the wire through the holes, added some compost and voila...a hanging basket or technically, a hanging funnel. Whatever. I hung it on the aviary. So CUTE! I knew I was going to like it but I didn't know I was going to like it this much.

I planted it with rose purslane and bright green veronica sunshine. Neither require much water or much room so they should be very happy in their new "funnel of love" home.

I think it looks perfect, hanging on the aviary. I'm sure my hens like it too.

And best of all...my funnel cost a whopping $5. The purslane and veronica were on sale for about $9. And that, my friends, is a whole lot of fun for under $15. I love container gardening. It's a lot of fun to look for interesting containers at junk and antique shops and estate sales. You should try it.

Just for fun, I searched etsy for "vintage funnel." I found this cutie pie hanging lamp made from an old funnel. (Click the link or the image to buy it!)

I bet you could find an interesting and unique garden container, if you kept an eye out.

As for finding any eggs in my coop nesting boxes...still nada. Perhaps the hanging basket will assure the girls of my devotion and inspire them to get busy. Or perhaps not. My chicken keeping neighbor said to me, "Lisa, if I was living in a fancy French hotel, I wouldn't want to go to work either."